Man Utd eye Lindegaard as Van der Sar successor

Manchester United look set to launch a January bid to sign Aalesunds goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard after Eric Steele, the Premier League club's goalkeeping coach, flew to Norway to scout the player for a fifth time.

United have been following Lindegaard for several months as they hunt for a successor to Edwin van der Sar. The Dutchman, who joined United from Fulham in 2005, turns 40 in October and is expected to announce his retirement at the end of the season.

Last weekend, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson flew to Valencia to cast his eye over another candidate, David de Gea, the Spain Under-21 goalkeeper, but switched his attention back to Lindegaard and dispatched Steele to watch the Denmark international during Aalesunds' 2-1 defeat at Stabaeck on Sunday.

Lindegaard, 26, originally moved to Aalesunds on loan after struggling to make his mark at Danish club Odense, but impressed so much that they signed him on a three-year deal. He made his international debut in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Iceland last month and has been attracting a lot of attention since claiming a regular first-team place at the Colour Line Stadion.

"I know that some British clubs are keeping tabs, but I don't know how strong their interest is," Aalesunds' sports director Henrik Hoff told Norway's VG newspaper last week.

"I have said all the time that something will happen in the winter window, but I could be mistaken. As big as the interest is, it would be strange if we don't receive a serious offer."

United sold England goalkeeper Ben Foster to Birmingham City in the summer and only have Tomasz Kuszczak as an experienced alternative to Van der Sar.